Quick Hitters
Astros OF George Springer exits with injury
LOS ANGELES — All-Star outfielder George Springer left Houston’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers after injuring his left thumb trying to steal second base in the third inning.
The team says Springer exited with discomfort in his thumb Sunday following a headfirst dive into the bag. He was thrown out by Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal.
Jake Marisnick replaced Springer in center field for the Astros. Marisnick robbed Chris Taylor of a home run to end the sixth.
Springer went deep in the first inning Sunday for his sixth leadoff home run this season.
The two-time All-Star also left Tuesday’s game at Seattle when he injured his left shoulder while diving to make a catch in the first inning. He was not in the Astros’ lineup Wednesday.
Gray, Parker lead Sparks to win over Mercury
LOS ANGELES — Chelsea Gray scored a season-high 24 points and Candace Parker had 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists to help the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Phoenix Mercury 78-75 on Sunday.
Parker hit a free throw midway through the second quarter to become the 20th player in WNBA history to score 5,000 career points.
Her jumper gave the Sparks (17-11) a 6-4 lead and they led the rest of the way. Her layup with four minutes left in the first half capped a 17-2 run and gave the Sparks a 17-point advantage and Nneka Ogwumike’s 3-pointer made it 45-30 early in the third quarter.
Diana Taurasi, who had four fouls in the first half, hit a 3-pointer late in the third quarter to ignite a 10-2 run that pulled the Mercury (16-13) within one when Briann January made a 3 with 8:29 to play and Leilani Mitchell’s 3-pointer trimmed their deficit to 74-72 with 1:21 remaining. Gray hit a jumper and, after DeWanna Bonner hit three free throws for Phoenix, added two free throws with 12 seconds left to cap the scoring.
Brittney Griner led the Mercury with 22 points. Bonner added 20 points and nine rebounds.
49ers’ Richard Sherman sidelined by hamstring strain
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco newcomer Richard Sherman will miss the next week of training camp and the 49ers’ preseason opener after straining a hamstring in practice Friday.
“We’re definitely going to rest him at least a week,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said Saturday. “We don’t think it should be long term. It’s Grade 1, it’s a little higher than we expected so we got to be careful with that.”
The former Seattle cornerback was hurt chasing down receiver Pierre Garcon after a long completion from Jimmy Garoppolo during a full-team drill. The three-time All-Pro returned to practice at the start of training camp after suffering a torn right Achilles in November with the Seahawks. Sherman signed a three-year $39.15 million deal in the offseason after being cut by Seattle.